All The Way
by madasbunnies
Summary: What will Maddy do when Booth leaves her pregnant with his child...and then comes back eighteen months later?
1. The Players

The Players

Madeline Isabell Amour, aka Maddie: works at the Jeffersonian Institution, in Washington DC, as an artist. Lynne is her partner, and together they reconstruct the faces of victims that are brought in and draw their faces. She used to be with Booth until she got pregnant and he left her with his child. She now lives in Jack's house, as a roommate.

Seeley Nicholas Booth: Special Agent in the FBI. When he abandoned Maddy, breaking her heart, he transferred to California to work at the LAPD. He used to be an Army sniper.

Owen Stanley Booth: Seeley and Maddy's son. He's always very happy, and loves his Mommy super much. Even at nine and a half months, he can recognize her and say "Mama". Maddy gave him Jack's middle name because of all that Jack did for her when she was in need.

Lynne Rose Spencer: Maddy's best friend, and Owen's "aunt". She does the forensic reconstruction on the Jeffersonian's victims and some of the drawing, but mostly she does the computer work and the virtual artwork while Maddy does the drawing.

Jack Stanley Hodgins: the entomolgist at the Jeffersonian. He works on bugs and dirt, to put in simplest terms. When Booth left, he offered for Maddy to stay with him, and as time wore on he began to fill in the empty spots that Booth left in Maddy's life.

Zach Tyler Addy: Forensic anthropologist at the Jeffersonian. He lives over Jack's garage, across from the main house where Jack and Maddy live. He considers Maddy his best friend, and is furious at Seeley because he made her so miserable.

Camille Zoey Saroyan: Runs the files and records department at the Jeffersonian. She had a short relationship with Seeley before Maddy came along, so she has a huge grudge against Maddy. Camille blames her for Seeley leaving and says that he was "the best agent they ever had on the team" and that Maddy "wrecked any chance of success for the Jeffersonian."

Temperance Grace Brennan: Director of the Forensics department of the Jeffersonian. Maddy's boss. Luckily she and Maddy have a friendly relationship and Brennan pities Maddy, so she has given her a lot of breaks.


	2. My Story

My Story

Hmm...where to begin? It's been a long, hard journey with so many unexpected, and unwanted, turns that I really don't know where to start. So I guess I'll just jump in and hope you can keep up.

_Lynne's story_

Maddy has been my best friend since we were in Pull-Ups, although there were a few after high school where we kind of lost contact, but we overcame that. I'm the one who got her her job at the Jeffersonian. I've always kind of looked out for her, so I told Maddy that I could pull some strings and get her a job as a facial reconstructing artist with me. Of course, she agreed. Being able to partner with my best friend was great. Maddy's never been the girl who jumps at the chance of something new and different. Ever since that time after high school, she's changed. I kind of think there's a reason of this, like maybe something happened during those three years, but I tried bringing it up once and she got really defensive and just shut down. I don't have any idea of what happened, but I think that someday she'll share it with me when she's ready.

_Zach's story_

Maddy and I became friends rather quickly, which is strange for me. Usually I come off as unapproachable and distant, or so I've been told. But Maddy and I have a great time together. Lynne says that I almost seem human when I'm around her, so I suppose that's a good thing. I really like her, as a friend. She's nice to me and seems to understand me, and never teases me about how I act. By how I act, I mean how smart I am. Maddy is actually rather smart as well, but not in a books and fact way, it's more of an intuition and critical thinking way.

I feel strangely attached to her, not in a way that I've felt with other people before. When Booth abandoned her, I felt a new feeling of hatred towards him. It was almost a primal need to keep her safe from him. It was odd.

_Jack's story_

We had bonded at work, but my first real connection with Madeline started the day she didn't come into work. She was gone for three days and no one knew where she was, not even Lynne. Booth didn't show up with any new cases for us either, so I knew something was up. On the fourth day I took it upon myself to go to the apartment that she shared with Booth and find out what was going on. It was really Booth's apartment, but she had moved in and he payed rent for it. When I arrived she answered my knock. Her eyes were red and swollen and she looked like she hadn't been eating. The apartment was mostly dark, and there was no sign of Booth. When she saw it was me, she was hesitant to let me in, but I insisted. I sat down on the couch and she sat on a chair across from me.

"You look terrible, Maddy." I started, comfortingly. "What's wrong? Where's Booth?"

"Nothing's wrong, I'm fine. I just needed a few days off." She said, looking down.

I reached over and took her hand. "Hey, you can talk to me. Tell me what happened."

With those words tears began rolling down her cheeks. "He left. He said he didn't want to handle it and he left!"

"Handle what?" I asked, confused.

She was silent for a few seconds before answering quietly, "The baby...his baby."

I was in shock for a moment. Booth and Maddy had always seemed like the type who were always extra careful. This wasn't like them.

Maddy spoke again. "When I told him he freaked out and said that he didn't want to handle my problem and that the apartment was payed through next month. Then he packed up his stuff and left." She started to cry harder now. "I begged him not go. I told him I was sorry and that it was my fault, but he left anyway."

It broke my heart to see her body wrack with sobs and listen to what she was telling me. Booth was a bastard for abandoning her. I could hardly believe that anyone could do that to Maddy. She was so...nice. Always kind to everyone, even Zach. And always eager to help and be supportive of whatever you were doing. And also so beautiful. I pulled her into my arms and at that moment promised both Maddy and myself that I would take care of her from then on.

That was when I let her move in to my house at no cost. I guess it's a pretty big house, with it's fourty rooms and three story build, so she has her privacy. I helped her convert one room into a baby room. Zach also lives over my garage, so she was never alone when she was pregnant.


	3. Those Nights

_Whaaaaaaaa!"_

Madeline Reilly was pulled from her sleep by the sharp sound of her baby crying in the room next to her's. She forced herself out of bed and into the baby room. Owen was standing in his crib, screaming. Maddy picked him up and started walking around the dark room with him. She did this for twenty minutes before his crying began to slowly cease. Then she sat down in the rocking chair and held him. Owen was the only company that she had in her wing of Jack's house, and the darkness and silence always stole a chance to envelop her in the depth of the night.

It had been eighteen months since Seeley had left, but every night when she lay alone in her bed, lonelyness filled up inside of her until she felt like she could hardly breathe. Most nights she feel asleep with the television on because she just couldn't stand the feeling of being alone.

Jack and Maddy were definititely not together. But Maddy felt like she owed something to him for everything that he had done, so she always let him "take comfort" in her when he needed it. She had almost come to enjoy it a bit herself, if enjoy was the right word to describe that kind of situation. It was the closest she had to a real relationship since Seeley.

Some nights her heart hurt so bad that she went to the other side of the mansion and into Jack's arms, where she knew she could always find a feeling of love, even if it was only physical. But most nights it was him that came to her. She would wake up to find him there for her. Whether he was there for her or there for her body or perhaps both she would never know. Whatever he was there for, she let him have it. She spread, he entered, sometimes she got there, sometimes only he did. She left him dry, just the way he liked it and then he left. This was the way it was most nights. She gave him his high and in return he gave her what she needed to take care of Owen. And that was all that mattered, at any cost for her.


	4. Winnie the Pooh, and Seeley Too

I'd like to mention that Lynne's character is dedicated to and based on my best and truest friend in the whole world. ily!!

The next morning, Maddy walked into Lynne's office, plopped down on the couch, and groaned.

"Rough night?" The brunette asked without looking up from what she was doing.

"In more ways than you know." Maddy replied.

"I feel your pain...at least in theory." Lynne commiserated.

Maddy looked over at what her friend was doing. She was intently focused on rearranging the tiny figures that adorned one end of her desk. They were her vast collection of Winnie the Pooh figurines that she had acquired over the years. She had at least one of every character in any style you could think of. There were vintage Roos, gold plated Piglets, plush Poohs, ceramic Christopher Robins, contemporary heffalumps, sterling silver Tiggers, and a multitude of others.

"Having fun?" Maddy asked said with a smirk.

"I'm trying to figure out the best way to place them. At first I had them in order by style, but that was too obvious. Then I separated them by character in alphabetical order. Then by order of appearance in the show. But none of those seemed fair to them, they're all too orderly." She turned silent now and stared at them. Maddy picked up one of the many up to date fashion magazines that were always in stock in this particular office and began to flip through it. The pages that weren't taken over by advertisements were filled with super skinny models in whatever crazy fashion the designers had recently come up with or teenage wannabe models in their mall-rat versions of the real divas' outfits. She was in a rather foul mood and everything was annoying her today. She threw down the magazine in disgust and started snapping the hair tie on her wrist, a habit that she had picked up from Jack.

"I think I'll disperse them amongst each other, creating the most likely groupings depending on the characters' relationships." Lynne stated. "Yes, that's what I'll do."

Maddy took the hair tie and flicked like a sling shot and watched it bounce off her friend's head. Lynne unglued her eyes from her formation and glared.

"Well you're feeling cheering today, aren't you?"

She was answered with another groan.

"Where's Owen?"

Maddy sighed and cursed the world for making talking take so much effort this morning. "Jack has him."

Using her great persuasive and people skills and good reputation with her boss, she had convinced Dr. Brennan to let her bring Owen to work with her. It had taken quite a bit of persuasion too. All of her friends had back her up though, so eventually Dr. Brennan gave in and allowed Owen a two week trial. This worked out perfectly, because when Maddy brought her son to meet her boss, he liked her enough to give her his million dollar smile. Lynne called it his charm smile. She said that he got it from Booth, and even Maddy had to agree. It wasn't the smile exactly that showed the part of his daddy in him, because his smile was definitely from Sophie; it was the look that he got in his chocolate brown eyes, which were also from his daddy.

Maddy's office was different from Lynne's because it was also Owen's. It had a mini fridge for baby food, a high chair, a play pen which doubled as a crib, and a couple of boxes filled with toys and books. It also had two bookshelves, plenty of drawing materials, the comfiest couch that she and Lynne could find out of all of furniture stores in D.C., and of course the usual office furniture. All of which was baby proofed.

Owen always behaved very well at work. In between meals and breaks, he usually played on the floor next to wherever Maddy was. All of her coworkers were used to absentmindedly working their way around him. No one complained, except for Camille. She constantly made snide comments about him being distracting and how he should be at daycare, and one day she made the mistake of making a complaint to Dr. Brennan. When she explained all her reasons of why having him there was unsuitable, Brennan simply replied coolly that Maddy was a very important part of the team there at the Jeffersonian and that if she said that Owen couldn't stay then Maddy would leave, herego she would be jeopardizing the Jeffersonian's success over a small trifle of forbidding an infant to come there who caused very little disturbance at all. Now Camille kept her comments to herself for the most part, but never spared Maddy if she happened to be nearby when made one of those rude remarks. Everyone else gladly chipped in to help with the baby, for which Maddy was very thankful.

_Four hours later; lunch break..._

As the clock struck 11:30, Maddy pushed up from the table she was working at and asked if anyone wanted her to pick up coffee for them on the way back from her lunch. Everyone replied yes, which meant that they wanted their usual drinks. She nodded and strapped Owen into his stroller, stuffing a few containers of baby food into the bottom compartment.

Maddy picked up a salad to go and took it to a park that she often went to. She and Owen sat at a picnic table and enjoyed their food in the sunshine. It was a beautiful day out and she was finally starting to enjoy it. After clearing up after herself, she pushed Owen's stroller over to the nearest Starbucks.

The mother and son waited over to the side for the barista to make their drinks. In under two minutes he produced two hot chocolates with extra chocolate, for Lynne and Maddy; extra strength black coffee, for Zach; a hazelnut espresso for Jack; and a sugar cookie, for Owen. The baby gnawed on this gratefully. Just as she turned around to go out the door, a man ran right into her, spilling his lidless cup of coffee all over her. They both swore with the same word at the exact same time. Maddy glanced up to see his face.

It was Seeley Booth.

The two ex lovers just stared at each other for atleast twenty seconds, then Seeley's eyes landed on Owen, then back to Maddy. Finally her senses came back to her. She blinked and then did what she should have done eighteen months ago. She raised her hand and slapped him square across the face, and took Owen and walked out.


	5. Why Does the Rain Fall Down?

I'm sorry if some of the men are out of character at times, but it's needed for the effect of the story. My apologies to everyone.

Maddy walked back to the Jeffersonian, grabbed her car keys out of her office, set every one's drinks down on a table, and began to walk out. Lynne and Zack, who were looking a bone reconstruction together, stared at her in confusion. Her shirt was soaking wet, and the expression on her face was a mixture of angry, surprise, and sadness.

"Madds, what the heck happened to you?" Lynne demanded when her friend offered no information.

"I'm taking the afternoon off." She replied, bluntly, and left.

"What the heck was that?" Lynne stated to no one in particular.

"I'm very confused." Zach answered.

"Yeah..."Lynne replied.

_Half an hour later..._

Lynne had tried calling Maddy to find out what was wrong, but she didn't answer. Jack was about to go home to see if she was there. Lynne stood up from her desk and went into Maddy's office to find the drawing of their latest victim amongst the files on her desk. Her friend was very organized, so it wasn't difficult. She starting walking out of the office while studying the picture when she sensed some one's presence. She raised her eyes to see Seeley standing in the doorway. Suddenly everything about Maddy's behavior made perfect sense. Lynne's face turned angry.

"Bastard." She greeted. And she slapped him.

He said nothing, just stared at the floor.

_At least he has the decency to show some shame,_ Lynne thought.

"What are you doing here?" She asked, glaring at him.

"I...I was transferred back." He answered quietly, not meeting her eyes. You could have cut the tension in the room with a knife.

"Well you better transfer your ass back again before Hodgins sees you." She told him, coldly.

As luck would have it, Jack came around the corner with a tray of dirt that he was about to examine.

When he saw Seeley standing there, his face hardened like stone. "What the hell is he doing here?"

"He got transferred." Lynne replied.

Jack's fist clenched at his side, and out of nowhere it collided with Seeley's jaw. "You can leave now. You're not wanted here."

"Hodgins!" Lynne reprimanded. She hated the guy right now, but that didn't mean that people should start beating him up.

"Hey!" Seeley barked, no longer feeling a need to show shame, just anger. "Why is it that every one thinks ok to hit me today? And it's not like I had a choice in the matter of transfer, I'm needed here. There's a top priority case coming into you guys and day now."

"I don't care if they found Noah buried in his ark! You're not welcome here."

"Fine. I'll leave. But I'll be back, we have to work together on this case whether we like it or not."

Jack's face didn't soften at all as he watched Seeley walk out.

Lynne ran a hand through her hair. "This is not good."

"I'm going to go find Maddy." Jack said.

"No, let me do it. This is chick stuff."

Lynne found Maddy at her house, holding Owen closely and looking very forlorn as they sat in front of the television. The two girls had a good, two hour talk while they played with Owen. Maddy felt better afterwards, but she was still very confused on what she was going to do. Seeley was probably going to want to see Owen, she was pretty sure of that, but could she even stand to be around him? And what about this new case that was so important that he was required to transfer back? Back when they first met, she had done field work with him on a case and they turned out to be remarkable as a team. Maddy had an uncanny talent at problem solving, and with Seeley's experience they were practically unbeatable. Because of this, Seeley persuaded his boss to let them work together permanently. This arrangement was what led to their relationship in the first place. One of Maddy's fears was that now they would ask her to work with him again.

She was very thankful that she had Owen to keep her company while Zach and Jack were still at work. He, for one, treated her no differently than ever before. Maddy thought he was so lucky that he didn't know what was happening around him. She went to bed as early as 8:30 that night, wishing she had that same innocence as well. 

Maddy's peaceful sleep was broken, late that night, by the feeling of hands on her skin. She forced her eyes open and groaned. "Jack, no. Not tonight. Please no."

He didn't stop removing her pants.

"I mean it Jack, not tonight. I can't." She was starting to become annoyed.

"Come on, baby. It'll make you feel better."

"No, I just want to be alone." When he still didn't stop and pushed her legs apart, she became panicky. She yelled at him and struggled to get away, but he continued and pinned her hands over her head.

"Shh," He said. "You can have whatever you want, whatever Owen needs, if you just let me have this one thing."

She wanted to say no, but she couldn't bring herself to it. So he pushed himself into her and took what he wanted. Two minutes later he thanked her quietly in her ear and left.

Maddy sobbed herself to sleep and prayed to God for forgiveness for whatever she had done that made her deserve this.


	6. My Cinderella Scene

Maddy avoided Jack the next morning while she prepared Owen and herself for the day, but she was forced to share the kitchen with him and Zach during breakfast. She would've skipped it, but Owen couldn't. As Zach ate his cereal he watched his two friends, knowing something was wrong between them, but not having the slightest idea what it was.

The rest of the morning went fine, until about 11:00 when the body of that "case of top priority" arrived, because Seeley came shortly after it. He came up to the gang of squints, as he called Maddy and her friends, who were grouped around the remains that were spread out on the lab table. Owen was in his mother's arms, watching the man curiously as he swiped his security card and entered. Maddy focused on the corpse, ignoring him completely.

After several long seconds of staring at Owen, Seeley started in on his introductions, "This is John Doe 258. He was found in a sewer in a neighborhood on the outskirts of town. He's one of twenty-two victims in the past five months. The killer has no continuity in his choice of victims. They're ages range from 8 to 40 years old, and all genders. The only constant is that they are all some form of Caucasian. They were all found in sewers in different generally "safe" neighborhoods in town. We need you to find out who this one is, and then we need to trace the killer."

No one spoke after this, until Lynne responded, "So there have been twenty-one vics before this, and they police are just now starting an investigation?"

"No, there has been an investigation going since the first one showed up, but this is when they finally sent it to you and called me in. We've never failed at solving a case, so we are their last hope." He replied, and then set down a thick folder he was holding. "Here's the file on the case."

"Lunch!" Camille yelled as she walked down the hallway past the lab. She always felt the need to let everyone know this as if she were their boss, for reasons that no one understood. When she saw Seeley standing there, a smirk crossed her face. "Booth. What are you doing back?"

"He was transferred." Jack and Lynne said at the same time, in a bored tone.

"But there's time for that story later," Lynne said, taking off her blue lab coat. "Because like you said, lunch!"

Everyone departed from the lab table then, getting ready to leave for lunch. Maddy quickly went into her office, shutting the door behind her. As soon as she did, there was a knock. She didn't reply, but the door opened anyway. It was no surprise to her that Seeley stepped into the room. He closed the door behind him and watched as Maddy ignored him completely. She hooked Owen into his stroller and got her things together as if it were any other day.

"Maddy," He tried. No response. Sighing, he walked over to her desk where she was standing. "Madeline please, talk to me."

Now she allowed herself to look at him. "I really don't care to. I've had a really tough week, and I don't need another heartbreaking speech to add to it."

"I don't want to give any speeches. I just want to talk, have a conversation that goes both ways." He tried. "I'll take you to lunch."

"Fine." She guessed she owed it to him to at least talk. _Wait a minute_, she thought. _Since when do I owe him anything?_ Oh well, it couldn't hurt to talk over a free lunch.

Their walk there was silent. He led Maddy to a Chinese place that used to be their favorite restaurant when they were together. She wasn't surprised about this either. They sat down at a booth with Owen in his stroller at the edge of the table. The owner, Sid, who used to be their personal friend, came up to them with a big smile on his face.

"I haven't seen you two in ages! And who's this? Is he your little one?" Sid exclaimed.

"Yeah, I suppose so." Maddy answered.

"That's wonderful to here. I'll get your order up right away."

Sid was kind of psychic in a way. You didn't order from him, he ordered for you. But the creepy part was that he always got what you what you wanted. He even seemed to know that Maddy was a picky eater. It was brilliant, but scary.

Maddy occupied herself during the empty silence by getting out Owens food and putting his bib on him. Seeley watched with interest as she fed him. From what he'd seen so far, she was very confidant with everything that she did with him. He had offered to help with his stroller on the way there, and she abruptly denied him in a protective, independent tone.

After a couple minutes of this, he cleared his throat somewhat nervously. He wasn't used to feeling this awkward and self conscious in a situation, it was unnerving. So he attempted to break the silence. "So…how are you?"

She looked up. "Fine."

He took the risk with this next one, "You don't look fine."

"I didn't ask your opinion on anything. I've been doing quiet well without your comments, actually." She went on feeding Owen.

"Maddy I'm going to be honest with you because I'm worried about you. You look exhausted, stressed out, and like you haven't been eating."

"Well what do you expect? I have _a lot_ to take care over. I've got a job, a child, and a million other things that I have to deal with everyday. So I think I look pretty good considering all that."

"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have pried."

They were silent now. The only one who seemed to be enjoying himself was Owen, who was quite interested in playing with his tiny baby crackers. Maddy finished up feeding him when Sid brought their food. She used a baby wipe to clean his face off, and then gave him the bottle she had packed. She tried to breastfeed him as often as she could, but with her work schedule and everything she often had to give him formula.

As they ate, Seeley resorted to small talk, asking things about cases she had worked on and such.

Maddy pushed her food around on her plate for half of the meal.

"Did you hear about that murder/suicide in New York with the governor? One of my old DC Police friends who transferred to New York City worked on it. He said the publicity was horrible."

"Why did you do it?" Maddy asked quietly. Seeley was silent. "Why did you just walk out on me?" She was fighting back tears now, even though she had promised herself earlier that she wouldn't give in and cry in front of him.

"It was really complicated," Seeley reached across the table and touched her hand, but she pulled it back.

Standing up, Maddy pushed the stroller that held a sleeping Owen out of the restaurant and back to work to face reality.


	7. Just My Luck

_That night..._

Zach was preparing for his usual night of reading for an hour or so before he went to sleep when he heard a knock on the door to his little apartment over Jack's garage. When he opened it, he saw Maddy standing there with Owen in his carrier.

"Maddy...what are you doing here?" He asked with his usual bluntness.

"Um...we felt like hanging out...so here we are. I brought movies." Maddy replied with her big, heart stealing smile. She just couldn't stay in her room by Jack that night.

Zach knew that something was up, but he let it pass and opened the door wider, signaling that the mother and son could enter.

They stayed up watching The Pink Panther while Owen slept, and during Harry Potter Maddy checked out on the couch.

_The next day..._

Maddy walked into work the next day in much higher spirits. Camille had for once done her job without causing her any grief, and given her a full report on the "Sir Clown Face" killer, as they had named him because he commited all his crimes dressed as a clown. She got a good couple hours of work in before Seeley arrived. She produced a full reconstruction of the victim's face, and had begun going over the reports of all the murders. At 10:30, Seeley stepped through her open door.

Maddy glanced up, her mood rapidly sinking.

"I know you're not going to like this, and I honestly avoided it at all costs for your sake, but there's no way around it." He stated evasively.

Maddy raised her eyebrows, having no idea what on earth he was talking about.

He took a deep breath before saying, "We're going to L.A."

She stared at him. "We? As in you and me? As in us? As in no one else?"

"Yeah...you pretty much summed it up."

Maddy pushed past him, storming out of her office. Seeley followed her, leaving Owen staring after them before resuming playing with his blocks.

"But Dr. Brennan, you can't let me go! You need me here, at the center of activity." Maddy pleaded.

"I'm sorry, Madeline, but the center of activity is in L.A. right now, and the two of you have never failed at solving a case together." Her boss replied.

"I don't see why I have to go, Booth can probably solve it on his own anyway."

"We need you down there. People's lives are at stake, and I know you can stop this killer. That is all there is to say in the matter."

Maddy sighed and stood up, putting a death wish on anyone that stood in her way of getting a large piece of chocolate and an aspirin.


	8. Just One Moment

Maddy stepped out of the shuttle, baby carrier in hand, and surveyed the surrounding cityscape. She, Seeley, and Owen were Los Angeles, California. Seeley went through the process of checking in as Maddy looked around the lobby in awe. Even the cheep hotels were more upscale in L.A., she noticed. When Seeley finished, she followed him into an elevator. The awkward silence that had been with them since they left D.C. was still lingering.

"The doorman will bring our luggage up." Seeley stated. Maddy just nodded in reply.

When the elevator doors slid open, Seeley headed down the hall towards the 210-230 section. He stopped at room 223. She looked around, waiting for him to point out her room, or hand her her own key, but instead he just slid the card in and held the door open for her. She stayed in the doorway and stared at him.

"One room?" She inquired coldly.

Seeley shifted his feet, expecting a fight.. "Yeah, benefits of the ever munificent L.A.P.D. budget."

Maddy sighed and stepped in. But all disappointment faded when she saw the room. It was a two bedroom, two bathroom accommodation, and the rooms were separated by an enormous living room and kitchenette.

Seeley let out a low whistle.

"For a stingy police department, they sure are generous." Maddy said.

Seeley let her choose which room she wanted and then retreated into his own, deciding to give her some space to get settled. He really didn't want to make this any harder for her than it had to be.

By the time he came out an hour later, Maddy had baby proofed the room, unpacked her things, and stocked the fridge with enough baby food and snacks to feed a Baby Einstein army. Now she was lounging on the couch, taking full advantage of the hotel's cable tv as Owen enjoyed the plush, Berber carpeting. He crawled over to where Seeley stood, sat down on his bottom, and looked up at his father curiously, as if he was not sure what to think of the man.

Maddy watched the scene and felt she could relate to Owen. Then Seeley looked over at her.

"Maddy..." he started cautiously. "Can I hold just him? Please?"

A million thoughts went through her head at that moment. It was more than just holding Owen, it was touching a gap between she and him that wasn't ready to be bridged. And if that gap was bridged by this act, it could just as soon be burned. And so could she. Despite all the cautionary messages flying through her head, she switched off the tv and nodded, being the big pushover that she was.

Relief flooded over Seeley like a tidal wave, for he too knew that his question could result in one of two ways. He bent down to pick up the infant, who instinctively reached his arms up.

The room was utterly silent for the next minute. Seeley studied Owen. God, he was beautiful. He looked a lot like Maddy, he had her button nose and full lips. Owen reached out and grabbed at Seeley's ear and Maddy couldn't suppress a grin. Happiness had always spread to Owen like disease, so he broke into a big smile and giggled. Seeley's heart almost broke during that second. Owen had Maddy's smile. The smile that had made him fall in love with her, that had made him swear that he would stay with her forever and always protect her. Reality crashed down on him. What had he done?

He thrust Owen into Maddy's arms and hurried out of the room, and out of the hotel. Maddy stared after him and wondered what was happening to her world.


	9. Call Me When You're Sober

Seeley got drunk that night. He wanted to get completely wasted, anything to get rid of this feeling of guilt. But unfortunately, the man could hold his liquor. At two a.m. he wandered back into the hotel room, only partially intoxicated.

Maddy was sitting on a stool at the kitchen counter pouring over the case files as he came in. She had been at it for hours, but nothing distinctive came up about any of the of it. They were all just random murders taking place in the sewers. It was extremely frustrating. Seeing Seeley like that didn't help either. She knew he was drunk. Well, to the extent that he could get drunk. Usually he wasn't much of a drinker, just a "social" drinker. Maddy knew that he was depressed, because that was the only time when he got hammered.

He glanced at her when he walked in and plopped down on the couch. After a minute or two he finally spoke. "What are you doing?"

"Working. Like we came here to do." She replied.

He decided it was best not to say anything else, instead he retired to his room.

An hour later Maddy was about ready to give up. There wasn't anything particular about these crimes. For all she knew, they could have been completely non related. Most of the victims had pictures in the file, and Maddy spread them out in front of her tired eyes. As they blurred before her, something clicked in her brain. She rubbed her eyes and focused on them. A thrill rushed through her, she had found a constant. Grabbing her cellphone, she selected Zach's contact hurriedly, despite the early hour that she was calling at. After the fourth ring he answered.

"Hello?" He said, his voice half asleep.

"Zach, are you at the lab?" Maddy asked. She was wired now.

"No...I'm at home, in bed."

"Well can you stop being at home? I need you at the lab now! Please!"

"I don't drive, remember?"

"Can't you call a driver from the Jeffersonian? Isn't that what we pay them for?"

"Can't this wait until morning?"

"No! I need to know now."

Zach sighed.

"Pleeeease, Zach?" Maddy begged. "I'll do anything!"

"Fine. I'll call you when I'm there."

"Thank you so much, Zachy! You're the best!" She hung up the phone and waited impatiently until he called back fifteen minutes later. She answered before the first ring had finished.

"Ok, do you have John Doe 258 in front of you?"

"Yes." By now Zach was fully awake.

"Are there any decent hair follicles left on the skull?"

"Yes, there are even some full hairs left."

Maddy grinned to herself. "What color are they?"

Zach removed one hair and switched on a high power light over his magnifying glass. "The victim's hair color is red."

room. He was asleep on the bed with all of his clothes still on except for his shirt. Maddy had to catch her breathe at this sight. He really was a "Yes! Thank you, Zach! I owe you!" With that she hung up the phone and marched into Seeley'sgorgeous man. Then she remembered the reason she even came in there at all, and began to shake him.

"Booth, wake up." She commanded.

He grunted, but did not wake.

"Wake up!"

No response, he was out like a light.

"Booth, get your butt out of bed, Lynne just had sex with Zach and I'm engaged to Camille!" She shouted in his ear.

That got his attention. He sat straight up in bed and looked around. "What?!"

She smirked. "I found a piece of the puzzle."

It took him a moment to process where he was and what was happening. "Huh?"

"In our case. I was studying it for hours and then i compared the pictures that we have of most of the victims, and then I had Zach examine the new vic, and I realized a continuity."

"What was it?" Seeley asked, rubbing his hand over face.

"All of the victims have red hair." Maddy stated.

"Are you sure?"

"Yep."

"Well that's a start. I don't know what it means, but it's a start."

Now Maddy felt awkward, sitting on the same bed as a half undressed Seeley. "Well, goodnight."

Seeley watched her walk out of the room. "Goodnight, Madeline." Then he fell back onto the bed and fell asleep almost instantly.


	10. Big Foam Balls

The next day the two "partners" silently agreed to have no mention of Seeley's state the previous night. He drowned hi minor hangover with orange juice and toast while Maddy fed Owen.

"Where do we start today?" she asked as she prepared her baby's bottle. It had been the first thing she had said all morning.

"Well," Seeley though. "I've interviewed the families of the victims that we were able to identify already, and all I got was that the vics were on a walk, or jogging, or in the act of some other kind of pedestrian...ish...act." He answered, in lack of a better word.

Maddy smirked, almost correcting his grammar, but deciding that that would be giving him too much.

"What have you got?" He queried.

"Only that the vics have red hair, they were all stabbed to death, and that the majority of the deaths were in the Brenada neighborhood. Oh, and that the killer dresses himself as a clown. How did we even find out the clown part?"

"Asian tourists, photos, long story, don't go there."

"Ok then."

"So, where are we starting?"

"I say we skip right to the source. Start map-questing the Brenada sewer system."

"Ok. I guess that's the best plan we've got." Seeley agreed.

"We can leave as soon as I dress Owen."

"Are you going to eat?"

"No, I'm fine."

"Are you sure? I can order something for you if you want." Seeley asked in concern. She wasn't anorexically thing or anything, but he knew her, and she didn't look her healthy weight. Usually she had a healthy appetite. She and Lynne could eat through your wallet when they were together, but now Maddy rarely ate normal meals. But Seeley wasn't going to push or pry.

"I'm fine." She answered in annoyance. The truth was, she couldn't eat today, because if she did, thinking about Seeley would certainly make her wish she hadn't.

When they pulled into the Brenada neighborhood, Seeley turned to Maddy.

"Do you want to wait here with Owen?" He asked cautiously. He never knew how she would react anymore when he asked her questions.

"No. He can come down with us." She replied coolly. "He won't be any trouble."

Seeley nodded and they both stepped out of the S.U.V. Maddy was grateful that Owen was still light enough to carry in a Snuggly on her chest. It made maneuvering with him much easier. After placing him in it and pulling the straps on so that the carrier was true to its name with Owen resting snuggly against her, she put a ring shaped baby toy in his hand to keep him pleasantly amused.

Seeley came around to her side of the car as she shut the back door. "I called the local sheriff. He should be here any minute to let us into the sewer."

"What's he gonna do, bring a professional sewer opener guy?" Maddy scoffed.

"Uh, yeah. Something like that." Seeley replied.

Sure enough, several silent minutes later a police car rolled up followed by a white van with the words "Stew's Sewage" plastered on the side. Maddy raised her eyebrows.

Soon after an FBI team arrived in a van as well. They gave Seeley and Maddy a chance to change into black FBI jumpsuits. When they were suited up and equipped with flashlights, the sewer technician opened the black metal sewer entrance cover in the middle of the suburban street. Maddy glanced at Seeley. She had to suppress the memories of doing this sort of thing quite often with him and how happy she was doing it. She told herself to focus on the work, which was difficult considering how well the jumpsuit accented Seeley's toned body.

"Ready?" Seeley asked, breaking into her thoughts.

"You first." She commanded.

Maddy watched as the FBI agent descended into the dark hole. When he touched the ground she lowered herself onto the ladder. Climbing down it was a bit challenging, since she kept one hand behind Owen's head to keep him from hitting the metal rails. Seeley couldn't help but feel that old surge of concern rush through him as he watched her travel down slowly, making sure she didn't slip. Once she reached the bottom, she clicked on her flashlight and began to lead the way down the dark, foul smelling sewer tunnel. They walked along a thin strip of concrete that bordered the wall. It was the only way to avoid stepping in the sewer muck.

"Do we have any idea what we're looking for or where we're going?" Maddy queried.

"Clues, anything that the forensics team may have missed or something new. And I'm not exactly familiar with the L.A. sewer system, so we're just, uh, following our intuition."

Maddy glanced over her shoulder at him. "So technically we're wandering aimlessly."

"We have an aim. Just not a destination." He defended.

They walked in silence for about fifteen minutes before Maddy stopped abruptly, causing Seeley to nearly run into her. His hands came into with her back to stop himself. She shuddered under his touch. It was the first time that he had really come into contact with nineteen months.

"What is it?" He asked.

Maddy pointed at an object that was floating in the sewer scum. She stepped across to the other concrete ledge on the other side of the sewer and pulled on a latex glove. Picking it up, she glanced over at Seeley.

"Is that what I think it is?"

She grimaced at the dirty piece of evidence. "A clown nose."

Now that new evidence had surfaced, the forensics team was sent over again and the two partners' job was over until something more was found.

"So, what do you propose we do now? We've probably got the rest of the day off." Seeley tried as he started up the car.

"You can take me back to the hotel. What you do for the rest of the day is up to you, Booth." Maddy replied curtly without looking at him. Instead she stared out of her window at the passing houses. Soon she no longer saw suburban housing, it was replaced by stores, restaurants, and hotels.

"You didn't use to call me that." Seeley stated quietly.

This time Maddy did spare him a glance, but it only contained confusion.

"Booth, you didn't use to call me Booth." He elaborated. "It was always Seeley."

"Things change." She answered.

"How long is it going to be like this?" He asked after another long period of silence.

"I don't know what you're talking about."

"Yes you do. You know exactly that I'm referring to the dysfunction that has been between us ever since I came back."

"Pull over."

"Why?"

"I need to change Owen."

"We're almost there. The hotel's only three blocks ahead."

"Fine."

And the two drifted into silence again, but Seeley was not going to let that be the end of their conversation.


End file.
